Doctor, doctor what's the news...?

[Admiral]

Blimey, I leave the country for a couple of months only to find family GPs up in and arms and some of them refusing to accept the Carte Vitale.

What is this all about?

I'm told they're protesting over "proposed" reforms in the health service.  What are these reforms?  Surely they can't be going down the bankrupt NHS route.  Or can they?

Honestly.  I can't leave this country for a minute without everything going to the dogs.

All useful replies on the back of a 50€ note please as this will help me pay future bills.

[Fred]

I did hear something about it but I don't know what they are complaining about, our GP was still taking them 3 weeks ago.

Now you're back you can be chief roving reporter and find out.

Oh and sorry I'm out of €50s I've only got €100s left.

[Admiral]

Now you're back you can be chief roving reporter and find out.  

Oh and sorry I'm out of €50s I've only got €100s left.

Perfectly fine with €100 notes Fred.

Actually this fine "mess" is being caused by the health minister proposing to relax the laws on what pharmacies can sell without a prescription and at the same time arguing that GPs adopt the same system of payment as the pharmacist does.

When you take a prescription to the pharmacist he/she can automatically check the level of your carte vitale and also whether you have mutuelle top-up insurance.  This means that in many instances no money changes hands because of the cover the patient has.

Now the government wants GPs to employ the same system.  GPs say this is too time consuming and, above all, too expensive - for them.  So instead of being able to charge €23 for each consulation the doctors want to be able to charge €31 a visit.  The health minister has given this a great big "Non."

So now we find 95 per cent of doctors have voted in favour of industrial action; not accepting the carte vitale or if they do only processing the data once a month instead of the current once a week.  Surprisingly, for France, a stonking 66 per cent of the public are in favour of the changes - especially the bit about the law being relaxed on what pharmacies can sell without a prescription.

Some GPs are now refusing to accept the carte vitale at all and instead give the patient with a form that needs to be filled in - by you - to claim any reimbursement due.